


before the day is done

by Astral Aeon (DreamyRequiem)



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/F, Gen, On Hiatus, ch 5 will be the end of the main comrades storyline, headcanons treated as fact, idk man but if luna isn't in familiar faces what is even the point, luna as the mc in comrades dlc, taking liberties with the story
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-03
Updated: 2017-12-23
Packaged: 2019-02-10 07:30:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 18,032
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12907125
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DreamyRequiem/pseuds/Astral%20Aeon
Summary: Only the sound of waves is there to greet her when she wakes up.





	1. year one

**Author's Note:**

> unbeta`d

She woke up in silence.

There was nothing to see or hear--nothing beyond the sound of waves slapping on the sandy shore. There were no buildings or other people, no sign that anyone had ever been there before. It was hard to see, of course, because the world seemed to be stuck at dusk.

Frowning she struggled to get up and stumbled over a sodden dress edge. The dress she wore was musty and smelled of salt. It stuck to her skin as she tugged at it and--ah, that was blood. She tugged at the tear along her side, where it looked like someone had plunged something into her.

There was a scar. She was unsurprised by this but--she had the strangest feeling that this wasn't something she was supposed to have survived.

Shaking her head, she stood up, still stumbling a bit over the currently heavy wet dress. She'd have to ditch it as soon as she found some other clothes--and maybe a flash light. It was too dark for her to run around without one, even if there was still some light left in the day.

She walked through the grass, barefoot and grimacing. She wondered when she had lost her shoes and then realized it had probably been when she got stabbed in the gut. Or even when she had fallen into the sea.

Either way, she was now left wincing as tiny rocks dug into the bottom of her feet. She could handle it for now but she'd really rather get her hands on some shoes. Hopefully when she found a town...

As she walked, the dusk did not grown brighter--instead it steadily darkened and her breath became slow and worried as it kept darkening until she could not even see the hands in front of her face. Peering into the darkness she saw a distant blue light and decided to make that her destination.

She crouched through the undergrowth, having the strangest feeling that she did not want to be seen at night. Seen by what she could not tell anyone, even if someone had been there with her. Whatever it was that she did want to be seen by, it made her scared to the tips of her toes. 

And so she kept crouching and walking through the underbrush. Sticks and rock cut her feet raw until she reached the soft blue light and slumped into the rock. At the center, an unlit fire pit sat waiting, as if it wanted her to light it.

Some light besides mystical blue etchings would be nice, she thought and struggled to light the fire.

She spent what felt like hours curled up by the fire she eventually sparked to life. At some point the warmth of the flames lulled her to sleep and she jerked into wakeful awareness as weak sunlight dance on her face.

It was so weak, covered by dark clouds of night. It was a wonder any light at all pierced the clouds and she had the most horrible feeling that that wonder would be gone soon enough.

Shaking herself, she stood back up and flinched. Her cut up feet were not to be walked on, not now. Resolutely, she tore apart the bottom of her dress, cringing at the dried mud that would be pressed against her wounds. But she supposed it was better than leaving them uncovered and risking damaging them further.

With her feet covered, she descended from the haven of blue light. As she did so, she saw something glint in the light; Daggers, stuck into the ground. Somewhere in the bushes were scarps of clothes--no better than her own dress.

Pulling her eyes from the clothes, she tugged the daggers from the earth and stood up to look through the cover of trees. Somewhere ahead, she could see what seemed to be a structure in the distance that she couldn’t see during the night. Nodding to herself, she decided: That was her new goal.

After more hours of walking, as the day sunk into dusk once more, she stumbled through an old, once rustic settlement. Parts of the outer buildings had fallen to bits and there was not a soul to be seen, for all that there were bright lights lighting up the entire settlement.

Tiredly, she stumbled her way into the only still intact building. It seemed to be an old store, having torn up shelves that she felt would only been in a store. Not that she'd ever seen a store in person, she knew, but she supposed her assumption was correct.

Slumping down against the counter, she frowned to herself. How did she know that she had never seen a store? That seemed improbable: Surely she would've had to buy food herself at some point in her life before waking up on the shore?

...It was then that she finally realized that she had no idea how old she was or even what he name was. Slightly panicked, she pressed the palms of her hands against her eyes, squeezing them shut so the sand and dirt caked on her hands would not get in them.

She despaired, there, with no one to see or care. She had a feeling no one would've cared if they had, that she had no one left.

That thought made her despair worsen, like a gaping dark maw that wanted to eat her whole. If she had nothing left, what was the point in continuing to fight death and darkness?

She sat there in her despair until night fell and her hunger finally made itself truly known. It took a couple more hours for her to give into the roaring hunger, picking through the merchandise left behind until she found a can of food.

It took her even more time to find a knife to pop open a hole to get into the can and it's delicious contents.

...Okay, so perhaps it was not the best meal she'd ever had. But it's not like she could really remember those meals and she was starving, any food would do. So she ate until the can was empty.

Hunger sated, she began searching, finally, for clothes. All the while, she thought about what she did not have that she could not remember. People, she knew. A brother, whose face she could not see and whose name she could not say. A friend, who she would die a thousand deaths for.

Something warm in her chest seemed to jump at the thought of the 'friend.' Perhaps more than friend then--but that warmth felt like something more, like a call to action.

Action for what, she did not know. But, she decided then as she found an old white tank top, a tan bra, and a pair of sturdy gray cargo pants, she could learn. Learn about the world and why the darkness came. Why the day was slowly dwindling to nothing but shattered shards of light and eventually, to nothing at all.

That much, she could do.

* * *

She cut her hair the next daylight with the same knife she'd opened the can with.

Satisfied, she dug through the rotting papers, trying to find a name for her to use, if only until she could remember her true name. Unfortunately, she could only find fragments of names and the only one she truly liked was 'Freya'--which she could tell was part of a bigger name.

Yet Freya sounded right. Perhaps not her exact name but she was sure her name sounded like Freya. The thought cheered her: There mustn't be a lot of names that sound like Freya. Surely she could find hers.

For all that she found clothes she could still not find shoes. Frustrated by this, she tugged off her muddied foot wrappings with new strips, from the parts of the dress that hadn't been as damaged and muddied as the rest of it. She was sad to see the dress go: It was her only tie to her past.

Having made her decision for the future, however, Freya began searching the store for some more cans of food and whatever else may be useful. There wasn’t much and the only thing she could find to carry them was a worn out bag that had most definitely seen better days. But it was big enough for the

It was as she was preparing said bag for her next trip that she heard gunshots. Startled, the newly dubbed Freya took to the round, thinking 'I am not alone in this world.'

But she got there too late to save the shooter. A young man, one who she would swear was not that much older than her, was lying on the road, clutching his side. If she had moved faster...

She paid no heed to the disappearing cloud of sparking red.

Freya fussed over the young man, trying to bandage his wounds. But nothing worked, she realized, even as she carried him back to the settlement she had just left. He'd die, because she could not heal.

It didn't occur to her how strange a thought that was for a very long time.

With his dying breaths, the man passed her his gun and sword, telling her to run to Lestallum. She clutched both items with her worn hands, wondering what she should do with them. Shaking her head, she made a sling to carry the sword with her makeshift bag and checked that the gun still had bullets.

It did. She had to stop herself from checking if the young man had more bullets--he was dead and she didn't want to...manhandle his body. How disrespectful, she thought.

At least she now had a three choices in weapons: A sword, the two daggers she had picked up by the haven, and the gun.

Freya turned from the body to the road once more and began walking. Lestallum...Surely she could reach the city if she hurried, right? Before the daylight turned to dusk once more. The flashlight that the young man had left behind meant that she could keep walking until she reached it or an outpost with people along the way.

She walked again. Hours and hours passed once more, daylight to dusk to night once more. Flicking the flashlight on, Freya choked as the first thing she saw was a truck careening towards her. She jerked to the side at the same time as the truck twisted to avoid her. Her knees the asphalt and she wondered where that truck had come from. She certainly hadn't heard it coming!

A man hit the side of the truck, yelling at the driver before he turned to Freya, peering down at her from his spot in the back of the truck.

Freya stared back.

"Hey there, kid. What the hell’re you doing all the way out here by yourself?," Libertus Ostium said.

* * *

The truck was vastly preferable to the walking, Freya decided. So were the boots that Libertus provided her at the first outpost they came to on their way to Lestallum. Apparently it was also the only one that still had power, besides Lestallum itself.

She wondered if the truck could last or if they were rationing gas. Or perhaps they were even getting Chocobos: Freya felt she had always wanted to ride one but never really had gotten a chance. Maybe now she can.

Freya yawned and leaned back against the truck. She hadn't realized until now that she hadn't slept since she woke up on that beach, despite resting at the haven and the abandoned settlement.

(She wondered how long that settlement would have power--it probably wouldn't have it for very much longer, she supposed.)

Libertus kept looking at her, as if he was trying to puzzle her out. Freya didn't know what to make of it, so she just closed her eyes and dozed, hoping to get some rest before something inevitably crossed their paths. Because, according to Libertus, the wildlife of the world had gone mad and daemons roamed the roads.

The thought made her frown. If something did show up, Freya wasn't sure how much help she would be. She felt that while she had fought before it hadn't been with a sword.

Of course, she might hope that no mad beasts or daemons appeared, but that was not meant to be. Daemons and beasts did appear, almost tearing up the road itself as they either appeared from the shadows or crawled in from the plains around them.

Her hands curled around the daggers in her bag. The daggers were short and manageable whereas the sword was not. She only had so many bullets too and she was unwilling to lose her ability to wield the gun, which meant the daggers were her only choice until she got used to the sword.

Freya flipped her legs over the edge of the truck, ignoring Libertus' startled cry. She was sick of other people fighting for her. She was going to fight for herself for once, fight for those who needed fighting for.

(She used to heal. She knows this, she can feel it. But no one needed healers when the threat could kill you faster than you could think. They needed warriors; so she would become a warrior for the people.)

Letting out a puff of breath, Freya tugged out the daggers, her eyes glinting. Her chest burned with something that felt familiar but foreign at once--like she knew the feeling but it being filtered through a different lenses. All she knew was that she needed to-- _throw the dagger. Throw it and see yourself moving with it so when it lands--_

The dagger left her fingers as the whispers sung in her head. In the next moment she_ shattered_ and then she was not and clutched the thrown dagger, with it stuck down to the hilt in the daemon's hide. It screeched at her, furious at the one who had cut into its body.

"Freya!" Libertus screeched behind her, his voice louder than the beast she was stuck on. Freya ignore him, favoring her chance to pull fully backwards, the sound of a blade pulling from the daemon's body a disgusting squelch.

The two in the front seats of the truck dove out, one of them shooting widely and hitting the lot of beasts without missing a shot. Freya wondered if she could ever be as good as shot as them--but returned her focus to defending herself with the daggers.

The daemon screeched as it shook back and forth, its many limbs reaching out to tear and kill them. Freya fiercely slashed through one of the limbs, leaving it to vanish into a fog of red-black. She warped around another limb, her lips curling into a small smile.

She stumbled as she reformed again, her limbs shaking. The first time had been easy--but now trying to reform after shattering like glass shook her heavily. Freya had a feeling, though, that her reaction was rather minor compared to the usual.

It was only thanks to the second of the two truckers' blade that she wasn't crushed by one of the mad beasts. Freya stabbed it in the eyes around the shielding blade.

Libertus was yelling as he dove into battle. She wondered who he was yelling at: Her? Or the two other people who had been in the truck with them? Freya internally shook her head. This was not the time to think but to act.

And then there was shattering in her ears and Libertus heaved her back. "What the hell are you doing? How the hell are you doing it? You're not--Fuck, are you a Glaive?"

What in the name of the Six was a Glaive?

Freya shrugged at him, confused. "I don't know--Libertus, we're fighting! Can we--Can we talk about this later?"

He pursed his lips and nodded after a second of hesitation. He disappeared with the sound of shattering glass and Freya swallowed. It made sense that she wasn't alone in being able to do that--but she had a feeling that they weren't supposed to be able to do it.

The battle continued and she wondered tiredly as she dodged another blow if she was going to die her. The thought left a bad taste in her mouth. Had she walked so far from that beach only to get killed by nature feet from Lestallum? Was dying simply her fate?

Some part of her was at peace with that. But her peace meant nothing as another combatant appeared, slashing through the wildlife and then not the daemon with absolutely no hesitation whatsoever.

The man peered down at them as the daemon dissipated. "Good to see you're in one piece. Come on, let's get to safety."

And so they continued on foot, with Libertus peering at her out of the corner of his eyes.

* * *

Freya sat down with Libertus. The man was squinting at her, as if trying to figure out how he knew her. And then he tapped her forehead, startling her. "You were a glaive, weren't you? Only the Glaives seemed to have gotten those warp striking abilities."

She hesitated. Should she tell him about her memories? She saw no reason to tell him nothing about herself--because perhaps he could help. Perhaps she was a glaive and she simply couldn't remember it all.

"I don't know, for sure," Freya said, "I can't truly remember everything before a couple days ago. I woke up alone on a beach and then wandered to where we met."

Libertus raised his eyebrows as if disbelieving her assertion. She pursed her lips as they fell into an intense staring contest. It felt like an eternity before Libertus relented with a deep sigh. Freya could tell he still didn't believe her so she placed the blades on the table.

He frowned and picked them up. "Altissia, huh? Don't remember which Glaives were from there...If only Nyx was here...He knew practically everyone in the Glaives."

She blinked: Nyx? The name sounded painfully familiar, like someone she had thought fondly of, if also exasperated. But Freya shook her head. "Libertus, those daggers--"

"Are yours." Libertus pointed out, placing them in front of her on the table they sat at. "You use them like any Glaive would've. That instinct doesn't just come from nowhere, Freya."

Freya wanted to tell him of the voice that had whispered to her instructions. To tell him everything--but the same thing that had taught her what to do whispered to her to keep it to herself. That no one would believe her, so what was the point?

So she nodded and said, "Okay." Because what else was she to say?

Libertus smiled at her and then pointed her out to Monica, a Crowndsguard who had missions for them all to do. Partially to get wildlife meat or to cut down the daemons that wandered at all times, now. So Freya took the missions one at a time, gathering food items, bought new items, and found stores of Meteorshards.

And Freya trained. She trained and trained and trained. It took time to become a good shot, using a crossbow instead of the gun she coveted. It took more time to become somewhat of a master with her sword and eventually picked out a lance to match with her four weapon choices.

It was months and months before she felt ready to begin starting new missions, farther from Lestallum. The city was the only place she felt safe in, due to the beasts and daemons that wandered the lands.

She was not the only one, as new people seemed to arrive every day. Iris Amicitia was one of them, alongside a boy named Talcott.

Freya met her by accident, when she first started up her store. It was a small place near the power station, where Jeanne sat and spoke with people stationed at all the powered pylon stations across the region.

It had really been an accident, when Freya almost knocked the fabric out of Iris' hands. She had fussed and flustered, embarrassed that she hadn't seen Iris or notice her. Iris had just joked that she was a talented assassin, of course Freya didn't notice her.

They became quick friends, to Freya's delight. She didn't have many of those--or at least, many of those that weren't also out on missions.

Iris mentioned, once, that Freya looked a lot like the Oracle--the one who had died in the seas of Altissia. Freya had winced and apologized, unknowing of what Iris' relationship with her might've been.

She only gave Freya a sad smile and said, "It's not your fault, Freya. You didn't ask to look like her at all."

* * *

It was eight months after arriving in Lestallum that Freya realized the sun wasn't coming up like it used to.

Granted, when she had first woken up, the sun hadn't lasted for long either. But now even dusk was short, at best an hour while days lasted for a couple hours. Even when the sun was out, it barely seemed to cut through the dark clouds covering the skies.

It was better to say that it was dusk all day long then it was to say here was any day at all. Freya wondered when the day would disappear entirely. Either way, she supposed their current lives would go on until the day came back from the darkness that was slowly taking their world.

As it was, thanks to Freya and other hunters and glaives, refugees were arriving almost every week. Power was slowly being returned to Lucis and as it went on, Freya wondered if they would try to reach any of the other countries after they retake Lucis.

Jeanne didn't know. "It's possible." She admitted. "But our pylons only reach over Lucis. We would have to build more but who knows? Holly might but if she does, she's not sharing with the rest of us."

Freya asked Holly and she was tight lipped on the subject. She also asked Monica, whom didn't seem to know either. Her reaction was to ask Cor but Freya was far more ready to drop the subject at that point that to continue on.

She took her weapons to the newly arrived Cid, who had just finished up setting up his weapon remodeler. Freya was fairly sure that wasn't what it was actually called but she supposed calling it by what it actually did worked.

Cid had apparently overheard some of the questions Freya had been asking, as he frowned and told her that he found it unlikely that they would go to any of the other countries. That they couldn't afford to do that, right now with how the world was.

Freya flushed, wondering how Cid had overheard. When she asked, he just raised an eyebrow. "Kid, we're all stuck in a small city like sardines: Things like that spread through those damn gossip lines like wild fire."

Well, she'd just have to be more careful about that then. Freya did not want everything she did to be scrutinized by the general public. After all, she could already hear some of the people giving her and the other Glaives nasty comments. She'd rather they didn't become personalized nasty comments.

After getting the weapon remodeled and upgraded, Freya scrambled to Iris, her bastion in all this madness. The younger girl seemed amused by Freya's fluster and teased her a bit until Freya told her why she was flustered.

"Let me at any of those guys, Freya! You guys are all working o hard and fighting for us all--how can they say that sort of stuff?? It's not like most of them are really doing anything themselves." She huffed and puffed and hugged Freya quite a lot.

Freya felt embarrassed, having a feeling she didn't often get hugged like this. Or once upon a time she hadn't: Iris never didn't hug her. It was one of Iris' favorite greetings with her--and Freya wondered if others got hugged by her like this.

(She hoped so: Iris' hugs were comforting.)

* * *

A full year after Freya arrived in Lestallum, two things of note happened.

First, they finally regained Old Lestallum, lighting up the outpost with powerful lights and gates and fences to protect the outpost from sneaking Imps. Refugees from near there bean to fill in the empty places in the small outpost.

And second: Gladiolus Amicitia arrived in Lesatllum.


	2. year two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> unbeta`d

Freya hadn't been in Lestallum when Gladiolus arrived. She had actually been among the group that helped reset up Old Lestallum, ensuring the safety of all those refugees who would make their new homes in the outpost or move on to Lestallum to make said new homes.

She did, however, her from Iris about her brother's arrival. Her excitement leaked over the radio transmission, and Freya couldn't help but get excited with her. It wasn't often that people got good news like this. Plus, the fact that one of the retainers of Prince Noctis was alive?

Well, it meant that the surviving Crownsguard and Kingsglaive had grounds to start a search for Prince Noctis. Which they were taking to heart, as they begin searches between missions, headed by volunteers from the guard, glaives, and Hunters alike.

It took the only daylight hours they had left to return to Lestallum from Old Lestallum. At this rate, Freya mused, they would only be able to use the trucks with the daemon slaying head lights. The amount of which, Freya could count on one hand. They'd probably scavenge for some more eventually, but for now they'd have to live with the handfl that they had.

When she arrived, it was to hear that Iris' brother was doing training sessions with every Crownsguard and Kingsglaive, along with any Hunters that wanted to survive outside the city. Freya was disappointed to find that her chance to get a session in with Gladiolus would be a few weeks, at best.

She'd just have to train do missions in the meantime, then. Well, that and help Iris out as usual with her store. Freya had way too much time on her hands, for all that she had missions and training to do.

So she spent the first week training, doing missions, and cleaning up Iris' store stall when she was busy with customers, without ever seeing Gladiolus. When came the day she saw an older man with long brunet hair speaking with Iris and clearly upsetting the girl, Freya was up in arms.

No one messed with her friend when she was around!

Now, we all know there's no need for Freya to be so defensive. After all, that was just Iris' brother. But Freya had never seen the man before, never in her life--so when one sees someone seemingly harassing a friend of theirs, their reaction tends to be on the defensive.

And so, Freya got in front of Iris, sticking her chin out a if that would up her intimidation factor. "What do you think you're doing to Iris?" She demanded, her hands flexing as if ready to slug the man in a second.

"Freya!" Iris yelped behind her, reaching out and grabbing Freya's shoulder. "Freya, it's okay! It's just my brother, Gladdy. He's not going to hurt me."

Her brother...? Oh. OH! This was Gladiolus? Freya felt her face grow red but she kept her stance. "He still looked like he was upsetting you, Iris," she said.

Iris shook her head. "No more than an older brother usually does." That was no comfort to Freya, who felt that an older brother can do a lot to upset their younger siblings. Freya had a feeling that she herself fell into that category.

Gladiolus raised his hands. "Hey, glad to know there's someone here keeping an eye on Iris. But you know, my sister is right. I'm not doing anything to hurt her." Freya narrowed her eyes at him. Could she trust him...?

Well, she supposed she'd give him the benefit of the doubt for now. The moment he hurt Iris, though, she'd...okay, she's not sure what she'd do but it was definitely going to make sure Iris doesn't get hurt by him again.

So she stepped down, crossing her arms. Gladiolus seemed pleased that she wasn't being confrontational anymore, but Freya wasn't exactly not being that. After all, she was just biding her time until he broke her trust.

Her time came soon, as Gladiolus apparently decided to look for her name on the list of people who wanted to train with him. Which was now rather short: Apparently everyone who had tried a sparring fight with the man had lost and wasn't exactly keen on fighting him and losing again.

Freya deliberated on her weapons--Her skill with her halberd was the best, but perhaps long range would be good too? She kept both the crossbow in her gear along with her currently favored halberd. Eventually, she decided to keep the basic daggers she'd had from day one and decided on the katana she'd picked up from the Hunter armory.

Gladiolus had a giant sword out when Freya arrived on the bridge. Maybe she should've gotten more long range, she thought, as he readied his blade. And then he threw it and Freya yelped as she dodged to the side to avoid it as it shattering on impact with the ground.

Freya summoned her katana and caught Gladiolus's great sword with it. Pushing back didn't seem to be an option as his strength far out stripped her own. Pursing her lips, she jerked back, barely dodging the downward strike. She switched to her halberd, swinging it around to hit the man. All it did was strike uselessly against the great sword.

Oh hell, was the last the thought she had before Gladiolus slapped her into the railing of the bridge.

When she woke up, it was to the sight of Gladiolus and Iris hovering over her. "You're awake!" Iris blurted, one hand on Freya's forehead. "You hit the railing pretty hard. The medics checked to make sure you didn't break anything but it's hard to tell without you awake..."

"I think I'm going to bruise." Freya muttered, squinting at the dark sky. "Your strikes are fairly strong, Gladiolus."

He made a face. "Don't call me that--It's Gladio. And it's not like I thought you'd fly back that hard from that strike--Should've realized your weight couldn't take it."

Freya sniffed slightly. "I'm petite, Gladiol--Gladio. What else did you expect?" He barked out a sharp laugh and Iris smiled, her hands covering her giggles. Freya ignored the sharp pains in her back for now: It was worth seeing that amusement on someone's face and knowing she'd made them laugh that way.

* * *

She wanted to be able to beat Gladio. That was Freya's new goal: Beat Gladio Amicitia's brute strength. Which meant that she had to learn how to be deft and fast, to dodge his blows and cut him down while his sword is out of hand.

Well, not literally cut him down. He was Iris’ brother and the Shield of Prince Noctis. It was just that she deeply wanted to win and know she was strong enough to at least out last him. She didn't know why she wanted that, but it felt like it was something that she wasn't before.

Strong, that is.

It was something that she felt she could have some control of. It's not like she could control her lack of memories or how the sun won't rise--nothing that Freya could do to regain her memories nor bring back the dawn. What she can do, though, was become stronger to protect those who can't protect themselves.

Iris seemed to agree with her as she too began training in her free time since Freya's failure to beat Gladio. According to Iris, it was because she wanted to do more, that she felt like a weakling because everyone else had kept having to protect her, after Insomnia fell.

Freya was pretty sure Iris has never been defenseless in her life, but she figured Iris wasn't going to take her word for it. Instead, she might just take Freya as a training partner.

Which was nice, because for once, Freya didn't have to go searching for a sparring partner. It was also a little bad, if only because Iris wasn't a well-trained as her brother. Yes, she could definitely handle a great sword. The problem was that Iris didn't have as much experience as Freya and everyone else in fighting living people with said great sword.

She didn't know when to pull her punches or when to put more strength into her swings. Iris was learning, but Freya ended up more often than not being her testing dummy when she was trying something new. Ah, the regrets, so do they sting. And so do Iris' blade swings.

Iris did get better, as the months passed. So did Freya herself, through the same training with Iris and the missions she undertook. During one of these missions, Freya escorted Cindy Aurum to Lestallum. According to the lady mechanic, she had gone to Hammerhead to pick up a bunch of supplies that were still left in the tiny outpost.

She asked her why, exactly, she had gone alone. Cindy grinned and said, "I've got a good hand with a wrench."

Freya was wary of Cindy's wrench for a good couple weeks after that.

Cindy ended up helping out both Cid and Holly with their respective work: With Cid, she helped update the weapon remodeler. On Holly's side, she helped make the plant even more efficient than it already was. It meant that they could now send more power to other places, with less meteor shards.

Strangely, Freya thought that was both good and bad. It felt like her efforts didn't mean as much if less meteor shards meant more power--but at the same time, even if Freya was getting a lot of meteor shards, it meant they might be able to open up yet another outpost. Perhaps one closer to Hammerhead, so they could pick up the big equipment they hadn't before the long nights had begun.

She supposed bad or good, it was a win win for them all.

* * *

They reopened the Meldacio Hunter HQ outpost.

Freya didn't go.

* * *

Iris began taking missions as a hunter. For whatever reason, she was not allowed into the crownsguard. From what Freya could understand, that was because the only member left of the crown family was the Prince, whom had not yet been named King.

And who also happened to be missing.

Gladio avoided the subject, for all that he was the Prince's Shield. He seemed to have some idea where the Prince was, but wasn't sharing it with the rest of them. Freya thought this wasn't a good idea: What if something were to happen to him, if he was alone? But the stance on the Prince's fate was never changed: Missing, and searching.

A stance that did change, was that Gladio had begun to bother Iris, scolding her for taking missions. He constantly repeated that she was 16, almost 17, and shouldn't have to fight like this.

Before Freya could intervene on her friend's behalf, Iris put her foot down. She told her brother that if he was so concerned, then he could join her on her missions. But also, that he was a filthy hypocrite because he had been learning to fight since he was ten. If anything, she was late to the fighting party.

Gladio seemed scandalized and stormed off to, probably, destroy the last couple of people on his training request list. Freya watched him go and then patted Iris on the back, grinning at her. She smiled back, if a little sad her brother was so...against her learning to fight.

"You would think he'd be happy about it." Freya mused to her one day. "It means that you can protect yourself, and he doesn't have to worry as much."

Iris shook her head. "I think that's exactly the problem. He needs to worry about people--In his own way, at least. And I think he's starting to feel useless."

Useless, without the Prince to Shield. Useless, because his rank meant nothing in the crownsguard at the moment. Freya wanted to scold the man for being so foolish. If he really felt so useless, why didn't he take more missions?

His sister and her friend had no answer to that.

* * *

Iris asked Freya, one day, why she has never gone to Meldacio.

Freya told her that she doesn't like the Empire.

"But we're all trapped in this darkness, Freya." Iris pointed out, sadly. "What's the point in keeping old prejudices?"

The blonde glaive felt the anger and grief rise in her chest. "It's not a prejudice, when they've hurt you."

Her friend was startled and asked her if she remembered something: Freya never answered. After all, she has no answer to that question. A feeling was not the same as remembering the event that caused the feeling to begin with.

* * *

Freya eventually decided, eight months after he defeat, that she needed to fight Gladio again.

When she told Iris this, her friend choked up and spluttered at her, shocked. After all, last time she had done it, she had bruised her back pretty badly and had been told she was lucky she didn't fracture any of the bones in her back.

Unfortunately Gladio rejected her first attempt to get a new spar going. The man cited the same reasons Iris had been surprised Freya wanted to do another fight: Injuries.

She scowled at them all and stormed off into the log of missions. Freya teared through the daemons and beasts in her way, barely registering how easy it was to do it all than it had been almost two years before. Meter shards, gil, experience--she gathered it all, because dammit all, she was going to get Gladio to fight her.

Maybe it wasn't her true calling, to fight, but she wanted to do this. Freya wanted to prove that she can fight, when she needed to.

He rejected her request, again.

Unfortunately for him, he does it this time in front of Iris, who had started worrying for Freya's frantic training and mission grinding. So Iris put her foot down and told them to fight, dammit, she was sick of Freya's strange form of sulking and Gladio being an idiot.

Gladio spluttered at her but groaned and said fine. He'll fight, but if Freya got hurt, it was on her.

Freya tilted her chin up, saying; "I think you'll be surprised, this time."

The fight seemed to start the same as before, with Gladio seemingly ready to overpower Freya with his brute strength. This time, though, Freya knew how he fought. Gladio was slow, his swings heavy. It wasn't too different from Iris' fighting style: The only difference was that Iris couldn't afford to throw her weapon as Gladio could.

But she used that to her advantage. At first she kept back, only getting close when Gladio threw his great sword at her. As soon as it left his hands, she would throw her halberd like a javelin and warp across to give the man a heavy strike across the chest. Freya did this over and over again--until Gladio stopped throwing his great sword, as if realizing exactly what she was doing.

Freya smiled tightly and changed her fighting style too--her pinwheel flashing into her hand instead of her favored halberd. Taking to the air, she peppered Gladio with the pinwheel, waiting for him to just fall or give in.

He stumbled, eventually, and leaned on his great sword with a groan. Freya let her feet hit the ground, tilting her head to the man. She raised an eyebrow and asked if he was done. Gladio grumbled at her as he leaned on the sword, as if that would help him win. She grinned at him and told him that he really should've taken her warning to heart.

Gladio grumbled at her and the two moved away from bridge where Iris tackled Freya in a hug. She cheered, glad that someone had gotten one over her brother. Gladio feigned offense, asking her if she really thought he deserved being beat up like that. With a straight face, Iris said, "Only because you're so full of yourself. Someone's gotta take you down a couple pegs."

The Shield seemed to pause, as if thinking about what she said. Iris and Freya exchanged look, frowning at each other. What was Gladio thinking, with that type of behavior?

They found out a couple of days later, when Gladio announced to Iris that he was going to go to Meldacio. His reasoning that he needs to get stronger, to become a better Shield to Noctis. Freya hummed with a frown as Iris smiled and accepted her brother's decision. Was this seriously just because of her beating him?

She cornered him just before he could leave, irritated. Freya all but demanded to know if he was leaving because of her and that stupid spar they had. Gladio sighed and told her that the spar was part of the reason--but because he realized he was just standing still in terms of skill and he needed to challenge himself more, just as Freya had to beat him. If anything, he said, she inspired him.

Freya blinked in confusion. She had--? Freya shook the thought away. "Tell Iris that. She thinks you're leaving because she bullied you into fighting me." Gladio straightened and hurried off, intending to find his sister. Freya sighed: She wondered if her brother had ever done the same.

The thought of her brother, who she only barely remembered existing, left a pang in her chest. She could not remember anything she had done with her brother, his name or his face. Freya hoped that he loved her, like Gladio loved Iris.

* * *

She ran into Libertus a couple days later, who congratulated her on her win against Gladio. "Gotta show those Crownsguard that we Glaives have still got it," He said, patting her on the back.

Freya smiled at him, relaxing. For all that Iris was nice to be around, that Cindy was energetic, that Cid was grumpy--something about Libertus was relaxing. Like he was someone she used to know. She thought that, maybe, that really was a sign she was a glaive. But she still wondered: If she was, than why hadn't she been wearing the blacks of the Glaives?

Why the white?

Either way, the two spent the afternoon together, Libertus telling her how Old Lestallum has been since she helped set it up. Freya was relieved to hear that the people there were doing well--though Libertus seemed rather unhappy about something. She asked about that, because for all that Libertus sometimes seemed sullen, it wasn't anymore sullen than most people seemed these days.

He told her about some of the refugees: people from Insomnia, actually, who blamed the Glaives for the invasion. Libertus grumblingly admitted that some of the Glaives had turned traitor but to attack them all for it was unwarranted, as was their distrust of the Hunters.

Freya touched his arm and told him that all of that didn't matter. After all, they all had to fight against the darkness down, Hunter, Glaive, and refugee alike. Libertus smiled tightly at her and nodded.

At the end of their two hours together, Libertus asked her if she'd help him with a mission later that day. "I was asked to pick a few people I trusted." He admitted. "I trust you. Wanna help get an Oracle's tomb to Lestallum?"

_An Oracle's tomb._

She agreed.

* * *

It wasn't as exciting an escort as one might think.

In fact, Freya later thought, it was very calm. Traveling to the point they would be meeting up with the goods had had more trouble, with the daemons emerging from the night. They weren't so tough, though the Iron Giant they defeated just before the goods arrived had been somewhat tough. Tough enough that she had to heal herself.

First time she'd had to do that, in a long while.

The trip back was calmer, partially use to the fact that the group was bigger. Daemons preferred targeting smaller groups or single cars: Two cars or more made them more wary to attack. But that also meant that stronger Daemons could and would appear eventually.

And they did, not too far from the cliff side tunnel that lead to Lestallum. Freya had leapt from the back of their truck, her halberd in hand as she yelled to them to keep the truck moving, she'd handle this.

Libertus was having none of that, as he too leapt from the truck, his dagger appearing in hand. The two in front glanced at each other but followed the goods as they continued the escort to Lestallum. Good, Freya thought, better they get that Oracle's tomb to some place safe.

The single hour of daylight emerged as they finished off the last of the daemons chasing the goods and escort truck. Together, Freya and Libertus limped back into Lestallum, equally tired but in good spirits.

After all, their goal had gotten to safety.

Libertus bought dinner for the entire group that night, more cheerful than she had seen him in...ever, really. They hosted a tiny party that Freya dragged Iris to, hoping it'd cheer the girl up more from her brother's departure.

When everyone disbanded, heading to their tiny beds, Freya faltered. At the edge of her hearing, she could hear a voice calling her. She was hesitant to follow: A strange voice that only she seemed to hear? That was suspicious. In the end she gave in, the voice pleading with her.

Her destination was the warehouse they were now storing the Oracle's tomb. Freya stood above it on a catwalk, peering down over the railings. She would've continued staring, wondering where the whispery voice had gone, when something shimmered in the air before her.

Freya's head snapped up to the shimmer. There a being made of crystal and light looked at her, as if watching her every movement.

 _Hello, precious little one._ It spoke, its voice neither male nor female. _I am so glad to see you once more._

She stared up at it, confused. Glad to see her? Did that mean this being knew her, before she had lost her memories? Freya wanted to ask but the words would not, could not leave her. It was as if they were dammed into her throat.

It seemed sad. _I'm sorry, little one. You sacrificed yourself for him, so I cannot tell you who you once were. But know this: You now bear my mark, my sigil. You will be the only one to bear it._

Freya felt a strange warmth burn against her chest, right next to the burn of light she had always carried.

“Are you the Oracle?” She blurted, her words finally freeing themselves.

 _One of them_ , It admitted, _The first. But though you now bear the Oracle’s Sigil, remember to not grow overconfident. He still needs you, little one._

The warmth in her just burned tighter. “Who?” She whispered.

The Oracle was gone.

* * *

Someone new arrived in Lestallum during the rest period. Freya didn't know him, but the people of Lestallum did, having seen him as often as Gladio before the long nights came. Cindy and Iris were especially happy, and Freya wondered why.

Who was Prompto Argentum? And why did he make her friends so happy?

Well, Freya was going to find out, even if she embarrassed herself along the way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> some part of this chapter i'm not entirely happy about but here's a gladio for you
> 
> i also specified were they went because they just 'leave town' when you beat them in game so.


	3. year three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> unbeta`d

Freya met Prompto, when the blond is speaking with Cindy. The mechanic was talking with the man she did not yet know, who seemed eager to help Cindy out with whatever she needed. Freya herself, of course, was still a little wary of Cindy's wrench.

She approached warily--the last time she had gotten in between a friend and a guy, they'd been related. While this guy didn't look like Cindy, that didn't meant anything as he could just be adopted.

Cindy spotted her first, cheerily waving her over. Freya shed her wariness in favor of smiling and greeting the mechanic. Cindy grinned and put her hands on her hips before introducing the blond she was speaking with: Prompto Argentim.

Freya blinked in surprise. Both Cindy and Iris had mentioned him yesterday, as he had just arrived in Lestallum then. "Iris mentioned you," Freya said to him, "Where exactly have you been, if not one of the outposts?"

"Well..." Prompto grinned sheepishly, holding a camera in his hands.

He explained that he had been getting pictures to show to a friend, one who was currently missing. Said friend apparently liked his photos, so Prompto had thought to keep track of the world for said friend until the friend was found.

Cindy laughed and lightly elbowed Prompto as she teased him over this friend. Prompto seemed flustered by the teasing and denied some of the stuff Cindy was saying--and then Freya noticed. He had a crush on Cindy, even if it was only a small one at the moment.

She hummed and asked Prompto if she could look at the photos--and if he had any from before the dark. When he asked why, Freya wryly explained her situation and her lack of memories. Prompto, wide eyed at the explanation, eagerly decided to share the photos he had taken in the past two years in the darkness and the photos from Before.

As she sifted through the photos, Freya found a photo with Prompto, Gladio, and two men she didn't recognize. Well, mostly. The black haired man seemed oddly familiar, like someone she had run into before.

"That's my friend, there," Prompto suddenly said, hovering at her shoulder as he pointed to the black haired man. "Over there is Iggy--Ignis, sorry--and I think Cindy said you already know Gladio, so."

Freya tilted her head, as if waiting for Prompto to name the black haired man--and then she suddenly realized why he hadn't. Because it was obvious who it was--Prince Noctis. The thought startled her somewhat but it also made sense as to why he was familiar: She would've seen him in Insomnia, right?

Yet...Neither Gladio nor the man Prompto had identified as Ignis were familiar at all and if she truly was a Glaive (a fact that she had once decided to accept with no alternative and had begun doubting as the years passed), why wouldn't the Prince's Shield be familiar? And his Advisor? She would've surely seen them in Insomnia too.

She didn't know what to make of this new information.

* * *

The jobs with Prompto are nice and calm. Picturesque, even, though that’s because Prompto likes to take pictures. He’s fun and bouncy and Freya is grateful for his company on these jobs, especially the ones to retrieve dog tags for the Hunters. Prompto told her that he’s done this before. She wondered if it was as hard as it is now.

Of course, she hadn’t really expected hr next mission to go the way it did. Freya was just glad Prompto--nor Iris--had been there.

* * *

Freya was getting better at this great sword thing. She'd originally started training in the use of great swords shortly after her win against Gladio as she figured increased stamina and strength wouldn't hurt.

It didn't, actually, as there had been several missions since then that, without the great sword training, she probably wouldn't outlasted.

Granted, Freya still never planned to use a great sword in battle. The weapon felt too slow for her to be able to handle properly in some of the fast paced battles she was getting into. Her Halberd barely kept up with the speeds the battles would go at. It had something to do with warp striking, she was fairly sure--it kept the pace of battle going quickly.

Either way, it did mean she had to keep an eye on the comrades that wielded those on her missions. As long as no one died.

That streak of surviving and winning doesn't always last.

* * *

 It was supposed to be a basic mission; kill the daemons and then return to Lestallum. Freya was used to those by now, as those had begun to be the majority of the missions they did now, to prevent the necessity of defense missions.

Freya did wonder where the numbers of daemons were coming from--there were so many and they killed so many yet the numbers are replaced in the blink of an eye.

Regardless, it was a standard daemon hunting mission. Freya had killed the last of the flans when one of her mission partners called out a warning. She spun around at the warning, gaze searching through the darkness for what he had yelled about.

Except said mission partner was gone, the darkness coalescing before them.

Freya clenched her hands on her lance's handle. What the hell was that? It seemed like it was a daemon emerging but where had her partner gone? The other two members were readying their weapons, looking as wary as Freya felt.

First, an iron giant emerged. Easy, Freya thought, and then it was followed by a daemon Freya had never seen before in her entire life. It was like someone had merged a behemoth with one of the MT mechas still left over from Niflheim's fall.

Whatever it was, Freya was not letting it to get them.

They needed to take care of that iron giant first, Freya thought. In fact, they moved to do just that and as they moved, Freya hoped they could find their fourth member in the darkness. And, oh they did. Freya tripped over him.

Or what was left of him.

She was thankful for the darkness, as it meant that she didn't have to see it in detail--she didn't need to. The smell was enough to tell her what was wrong, what had happened.

The iron giant clanked into death as her two party members took it down. They turned on the behemoth creature as one and Freya stumbled to her feet. She felt her throat clog up and she thought; _They're going to die_.

The man wielding a great sword as throw into a tree as Freya ran to back up the crossbower. The other woman was struck dumb by a laser--barely keeping standing, her head swaying as if she couldn't tell where she was. Freya grabbed her by the arm and hissed at her to go and hide.

She let her go, shoving her in direction of a haven. If there was one place the crossbower would be safe at, it was a haven.

But that left Freya alone with the behemoth MT.

If she died, then at least she would die fighting. Freya knew that there was no better way to go, in the darkness. Even so, even if she knew she was going to die, Freya wasn't going to roll over and let herself die.

So, with her lance bared forward, Freya screamed as she warp striked into the beast's side. She stabbed and weaved, avoiding the strikes from the beast's wavering limbs and the lasers coming off of the strange circle attached to the beast's head.

It was strange, she thought absently, that they hadn't had warning for this. She'd have to ask Monica about it later.

Freya shouldn't have stopped to think, for even a second, because the moment she thought to speak to Monica, she was backhanded by the beast's massive paw. She didn't even make a sound as she hit a rock and fell to the ground.

She coughed, blood splattered across the grass and earth. Whoops, she messed up. She--She should've talked to Iris before she left. Cindy and Iris and Prompto--Libertus, Jeanne, Cid, Holly. She's not going to be able to talk to any of them anymore, now huh?

Her lips pulled into a painful smile. Looks like she was going to die. Oh well, huh?

Closing her eyes, Freya waited for the beast's final kill. At least she'd managed to get one of her mission partners to safety, she hoped.

And then a hand clasped on her upper arm and a voice snarled in her ear: "Get up, Freya!"

* * *

"I plead for Her, in Her Name, that You of Six return Her memories to Her. She has done enough for all--even now, when She has no obligations to do so, She fights for the innocent. Has She not paid enough?"

_Her head felt like it was full of cotton. She wondered why--why it was full of cotton and what the smell of antiseptic was coming from. Hadn't she been in a forest?_

'You ask us to return the price She paid for the Covenants?'

_The voices were so harsh, she thought. Why were they arguing in the first place, actually? And if they were arguing, why were they doing it over her? She wanted to sleep, and she couldn't do it would yelling people._

"Once, You of Six did not make the innocent pay Prices for calling on Your Power. Why would You of Six ask Her such a price when She acts in Your name?"

_What price? She didn't remember paying any price--unless they were talking a different She. She wondered who they could be talking about then and if they couldn't go argue about it over her instead._

'You dare lecture us?!'

"I dare, as an Oracle who served You of Six for all my living life and my time in Beyond! If You of Six must take a Price, take it from Us, who came before! I, and all Oracles, would be willing to give a Price to allow this One a life once more."

_Oracles? Like Lunafreya, who had died in Altissia? She was from Altissia, wasn't she? Wait, no... the daggers were not hers, she had been given them. No, not given, she had picked them up hadn't she? By a Haven of Safety from the dark._

'..........'

"What say You of Six to that?"

'We accept.'

_The frosty whisper filled her with joy and hope though she did not know why. It was comforting, like an old friend who held her hand as she weeped at her ____'s side._

'Shiva!'

'We accept, but know this: Her memories of her childhood are Long Lost. She will only remember the years after ten--but even so, She will not be allowed all memories at once. She must choose what She will remember first.'

"This is acceptable."

'Oh, little moon, what do you wish to remember?'

_Oh, were they talking to her now? She thought long and hard. There was a lot she wanted to remember, everything really. But if she had to pick one thing...she wavered. The Brother or the Friend. They were equally important to her, in different ways. She did not know which to pick._

'Little moon, you will remember both eventually. You only need choose who you will remember first.'

_She thought. The Brother; who she loved but did not like and she could not remember why. Or the Friend; who she knew she would die a thousand deaths for, if only to see their smile. It was hard because she loved them both--but in the end, the choice was obvious, wasn't it?_

_She chose._

* * *

Iris was half asleep at Freya's side when she woke up. Her head still felt like it was full of cotton, like it had in her sleep, but she also felt refreshed.

Freya was tempted to search for the memories they had said she would get back--but then she remembered that the Oracle had whispered to her, moments before she woke, that it would take time. She would need to wait and work and fight until she got those memories back and even then there was no guarantee that she'd get everything back, even ignoring the gapping hole of her first ten years of life.

She would've mourned them, if she had ever really remembered them to begin with.

In any case, the moment Freya sat herself up, counting her fingers to make sure she still had them all, Iris jolted from her almost nap. "Freya!" She sobbed, clearly forcing herself not to reach out and latch herself onto the blonde. "You're awake!!"

"Yeah." Freya slurred, frowning as she realized her tongue felt funny. "How long have you been waiting up for me?"

"Two months."

Oh. Freya felt her eyes go wide, shock making her snap her head to Iris. The younger girl looked deadly serious--It can't have really been 2 months! Would they really have supported Freya for two months? If so, she had a lot to make up for--

A groan. "Iris, stop teasing her. It's only been two weeks, Freya." Freya jerked her head to the other side of the bed, where Prompto sat, yawning. She hadn't noticed him when she woke up. Why had they waited up for her?

"So it's only been two weeks, huh?" Freya mumbled, finding it easier to talk when she spoke softer.

Iris nodded, her deadly serious expression changing to a soft smile. "Yeah. Sorry for teasing you, Freya."

Freya hummed softly. Alright, what had even happened to cause her to be unconscious for so long? She couldn't quite remember what had happened--she remembered a mission to take out some daemons in a tree grove that was thick enough to be a forest. What had happened--

She choked, images of the dead floating before her eyes. The one who had been torn to bits and the great sword wielder that had been thrown into a wall. The crossbower, what happened to her?

"I--My mission partners. What happened to them?"

Iris and Prompto exchanged looks. Prompto hesitantly said, "Two of them died before we got there. I--I'd rather not talk about the specifics. The woman with the crossbow is still alive! But she's--well, she's not a hunter anymore."

Freya nodded to them both, leaning back in the bed. At least she'd saved someone. Iris waved a hand at Prompto suddenly, babbling something about his photos. Prompto blinked and perked up, going for his bag. They spent the next two hours looking at the photos Prompto had taken since Freya had been passed out.

Eventually, Freya clasped her hands on her lap and asked them when she was going to have her physical therapy. Iris hesitated.

"Are you sure you wanna start so soon? You just woke up..." Iris murmured, her eyes shining in worry.

She smiled at the younger woman. "Not right now, of course, but I'd like to get started in the next couple of days, at least. I don't want to fall behind the other Glaives, Crownsguard, and Hunters."

Prompto snorted and told her she worked too hard, Iris' worry dissolving at Prompto's teasing. Freya smiled a bit, thinking wryly he really does know exactly what to say to diffuse a situation.

Freya wondered when he had needed to learn that.

* * *

As it turned out, Freya was able to start her physical therapy two days after she woke up. Mainly to let her readjust to being awake again--and also to the fact that the sun was no longer visible.

She could spend twenty four hours outside and no sun would peek through the dark cloud in the sky. Of course, she wasn't allowed to do that simply because Iris or Prompto--and sometimes Cindy, to her embarrassment--would drag her back to her room.

Freya was somewhat frustrated about it all. Yes, she knew she had just been in the medic's halls and was still going through physical therapy. But did that really mean everyone had to fuss over her and stop her from just functioning as a human?

Maybe it was because she felt trapped, but Freya couldn't wait until she could get out of Lestallum. Her friends were great but they were smothering her with their care for her.

When Libertus showed up to assess Freya's physical state, she almost wept with joy. All she had to do was do her best in this exam and maybe she'd finally be freed from the jail cell of care and fuss.

Shaking his head, Libertus ended up only marking her off for light work--work within Lestallum--and Freya sighed. She'd take it even if she'd rather getting out and getting some fresh air.

The first time she took a job out, it was in the power plant. Holly didn't hover as her friends did, trusting her to be able to take care of her job. In this case it was just paper pushing--that is, her carrying files and folders from one end of the power plant offices to the other. Each office wasn't too far from each other so Freya didn't have to walk far to pass the files back and forth.

Unfortunately, she soon found out that most of the jobs were just like that. Freya swallowed her frustration at it all, thinking that this was almost as bad as being able to do nothing.

Freya wondered when she got used to the action of daemon hunting.

However, there was a small set of jobs that Freya hadn't touched: Helping out in the medic halls. She was almost hesitant to do so as she had spent so long in there that the smell had started driving her insane.

Well, change of pace from the file running, she decided. Freya accepted one of the jobs and headed out to the medic halls. The job description was simply 'aid the healers', which didn't tell her much. When she did get there the available medics swarmed her, as if expecting her to be there for a check up.

When she told them she was there for a job, they calmed down and pointed her to the small office of the head medic. Freya headed over, wary of any more medics: she did not want to be swarmed at again. Thankfully, it seemed news traveled fast as light in the medic halls as before she even made it down the long hallway, everyone was aware of why she was there.

She blinked at the sight of a Glaive: What was a Glaive doing in the head medic office? The woman looked up at her, pausing in her flipping through the folder in her hands. "Yes?" She asked, frowning at Freya. "Is there anything I can help you with?"

"I've got a job?" Freya tilted her head. She wondered if this woman was the head medic's assistant. Or maybe...

The female Glaive nodded. "Strange to see a Glaive helping out--Unless they need something to do, after being injured. I'm guessing that's the case with you?"

Uh. "Bu aren't you a Glaive?" Freya asked, glancing down at the woman's uniform.

The woman snorted. "I was, once. Most of the Kingsglaive were let off just before the peace treaty was proposed. I just happened to be one of them--and also one of the ones who didn't get their Glaive Abilities back when the Dark came." She shook her head, putting the folder on the desk. "But I digress. My name's Toft and I'm the head medic in these halls. I've got a paper with some duties--and a medic you have to shadow until we clear you for solo medic work. Got it?"

Freya nodded rapidly, clasping her hands behind her back. "I understand."

With that and a list Toft shoved into her hands, Freya was dismissed.

* * *

 The month Freya spent working in the medic halls was nice and calm. She may have missed the fast pace beat of the hunts but the healing was almost soothing in how familiar it was to her. Like an old friend who had come back to visit after months and years of being far away.

Prompto came by sometimes, asking how things were and if there was anything he could do to help. Freya told tha Toft would kill them both and hide the bodies so well no one would ever know what had happened to them if Freya just let him help without training. Prompto didn't ask again, his eyes wide with shock.

During one of Frya's last missions for the medic halls, she runs into Libertus. The older man had sprained his ankle--the same leg that had once been broken, during Insomnia's fall. Freya winced when she found that out--but still patched him up as she was mandated. Once she was done, she paused and looked up at the other Glaive. "When will I be cleared for field work again, anyway?"

Libertus coughed at the forward question and tested his ankle as he thought. "I guess you're ready to go out now, really. You'll still need to do a check up--but I suggest taking one more mission before you do that: Holly was asking after you, because she wanted a Glaive's help with fixing up one of the cargo carriers."

Freya blinked, surprised. "What happened?"

"Got stuck, from the looks of things. Productivity has been halved: No one can even use those cables until the cargo carrier is fixed. Will you help out?" Libertus looked up at her with a raised eyebrow as she pushed him back onto the medical table.

"I'll help," She said, "But can you at least use a crutch? I don't want to hear you've broken your ankle instead of spraining it because you didn't."

Libertus grumbled and complied, all while Freya started working on her medical report: The last one she should need to write for hopefully a real long while. She missed the straight forward 'we found the thing, killed the thing, and here's the evidence' reports of the hunts.

Well, at least she'll get back to get after this last mission. And she can now do field medicine, if the worst happened again. Not that Freya was ever going to let that happen again but--you never knew, in a world of darkness.

The job to help repair the cargo carried blocking the northern cables was fairly easy. With a radio in hand, Holly walked her through the repairs and Freya was done with a couple hours. Once she finished, Holly thanked her and mentioned that the hunters, crownsguard, and kingsglaive had brought a plan to start using the cargo carriers to get to their mission destinations, partially because of the dark.

It was far more dangerous, now, than it had been than two months earlier.

The world can change quite a lot in a short time, Freya mused silently to herself as she met with Holly to return the radio. But it can also stay the same for a very long time.

* * *

Two days after Freya was finally cleared for field work once more, Cauthess Depot was opened.

Unlike the other outpost they had reclaimed, it was far safer to just claim the warehouses in the area instead of the outside area. They just didn't have enough fence, yet, to try and do that.

Soon, though, they would. But how soon is 'soon'? That could be weeks or months--but either way, there was now a safe place for the refugees in that area of Duscae.

* * *

"Prompto, fight me."

The blond choked on his sandwich, startled by Freya's sudden request-demand. Once he got it down without dying over it, Prompto said, "What, why? Freya, you can't just come in on a guy and his sandwich, I wanna eat--"

"Not right now, Prompto." Freya poked his hand. "When you're done--I've been cleared for field work and I want to try and get some training in before I take any missions outside of Lestallum."

Prompto nodded slowly. "Makes sense but do we have to do this now?"

"I have a mission tomorrow."

"Ugh, fine. Let me finish and we can go spar on the power plant bridge."

Freya beamed. She had never sparred with Prompto--in fact, not many had sparred with Prompto. He was the Prince's best friend, his confidant, not his Shield or Advisor so people underestimated him. Freya knew better than to do that, just from the missions they had gone on before her injury.

She won't underestimate him but she was also going to do her best to beat him. Freya isn't sure why but she's almost certain the two of them have similar levels of fighting experience. It was...fairer, than the spars with Gladio. Gladio had trained from birth to be a Shield: She and Prompto had learned to fight to protect those they cared for.

It was nice to be on equal footing.

Freya met with him on the bridge, where he checked the barrel of his gun, replacing them with the rubber bullets specific for training sessions. She clasped her halberd, waiting for him to fire the first shot. There was no point in trying to out run Prompto: He wasn't slowed down by a large weapon as Gladio had been.

Instead, she'd have to run him down with stamina and strength. She's not sure if she had enough of it: She had spent the past month in therapy and medical work. Freya would still try and win, but...Well, here's to seeing what will happen.

Prompto fired.

The rubber bullet skimmed her cheek and Freya jerked to the side, rolling across the ground. Her hair stuck to her face and she rushed forward, warping across the distance between herself and Prompto. She swung her halberd as she caught up, the blade barely missing Prompto as the other blond dodged back.

He knew how to fight with someone who can warp. And also how to fight someone who can warp. Freya twirled her halberd and swung it at Prompto's legs. He may know how to fight a warper, but it was clear that he didn't have as much experience fighting a halberd wielder.

She spun around another one his shots and leapt into the air. Her blade slammed into the ground and the shockwave stunned Prompto long enough for her to sweep his legs out from under him. Freya jerked her halberd's handle around and caught him in the chest.

Prompto stumbled and face planted on the bridge, waving his gun around in frustration. Oh, oops, he must’ve used all his rubber bullets and was out of them now. Or just didn't have time to reload.

Freya knelt down next to him, touching his hand. "Are you okay, Prompto?"

He sighed before rolling over. "Guess I thought I might win. I'm used to fighting with warpers so I figured I'd know all there is to know on how to deal with `em. But Noct never really used lances or halberds--well except for that one but. You get what I mean, right?"

"That one? And yes I get what you mean." Freya smiled a bit at the blond.

Prompto ruffled his hair as he sat up. "A...trident. It was the Oracle's--I didn't see him use it too much because he got it after we got separated once. But when we met back up he used it when he needed to fight some bigger daemons. He always seemed sad, though..." Prompto looked away, as if he knew exactly why he was sad.

She went quiet. If the trident was the Oracle's did that mean the Prince had known her? If so that would explain his sadness: the Oracle had died in Altissia after all.

The two sat together on the bridge for a little while, both feeling more solemn than the win should have caused. Freya hoped the Prince was alright, wherever he was, if only for Prompto and Gladio's sakes. They deserved to see their friend in one piece.

* * *

They went and tracked down Iris after they finished their solemn vigil atop the bridge. Their excuse? Dinner, because honestly they were tired and grumpy and hungry, for all that Prompto had eaten before their fight. And dinners were always nicer with more friends.

She was glad to tell Iris that she had been cleared for field work--the other woman had been delighted to hear that Freya was finally well enough to leave Lestallum, though she still seemed warily worried. Freya had to stop herself from groaning because she knew Iris' worry came from a good place. She'd just have to do some hard missions to prove to Iris that there's no reason to worry about her.

Freya picked out the place they were eating at: A small cafe just inside the refugee sector. It was as far as they were allowed to go, as Hunters, and Crownsguard, and Kingsglaives. It was frustrating but she supposed it was because of the natural distrust the people had of them.

But the food was good, she thought. For all that they were stuck in the front sector of the refugee sector, outlawed from going further, Freya could enjoy the food. And at least she was allowed to actually leave Lestallum, unlike the refugees huddled behind the barriers.

As it turned out, Iris too had some news for them. "I finally got certified as a hunter." She declared, leaning back in her chair. Freya and Prompto both cheered for Iris' accomplishment, Prompto asking her if she was going on a job any time soon. She shook her head. "No, I'll be going on my first field mission in a couple weeks. I'm still setting things up so that someone is running my store when I'm not there."

Freya nodded. "You've worked hard on that store--It wouldn't do for you to lose it just because you've started working as a Hunter too." Iris nodded and sipped at her drink.

Prompto shifted in his hair and drew the attention onto him. He grinned at them. "Okay so. I was actually going to leave Lestallum in a few days to help out in Old Lestallum before I move on to another outpost--but...I kinda changed my mind?"

"Oh, you're staying now?" Iris asked, looking surprised.

The other blond rubbed his neck with a wry grin. "Yeah! I think...There's things I still need to do here that I can't do out there. So I'm staying until I get that stuff done."

Freya leaned on her hands, interested. "I don't suppose you're willing to share?" Prompto flushed and shook his head, seemingly embarrassed by the question. She wondered what it was he was so embarrassed about.

But she and Iris accepted his reluctance and so they finished their dinner, talking about small, everyday things instead of big news.

* * *

The field work was a nice change of pace from her past months. Part of it was just because of her frustration at being locked up--for her health, honestly--and the other was that she was glad for fast paced jobs and missions again.

Don't get her wrong, she loved working in the medic halls, for all of Toft's hardness of them. But with her warping, she was more...useful, so to say, out fighting on the field than behind walls. Freya was even more useful out there, now that she had medic training.

Besides, fast paced jobs meant that she didn't have time to sit and think about that strange dream she had after her near death. The dream where the First Oracle had pleaded for her memories from someone and had gotten a yes, even if with stipulations.

Freya still hadn't remembered a thing.

Okay, that wasn't entirely true. Every time she did something reckless or almost got hit while out on the field, she could hear someone, an older man, scolding her. Saying things like 'Sister, you're going to get yourself killed' or 'I don't want you to die.'

She wondered if her brother had always been so overprotective. Besides the thought of him possibly joining Niflheim that might've been one of the reasons behind her eventually disliking him: Freya hated being told to keep herself save, when she could do something help someone.

It was after one such mission of remembered phrases and scoldings that Freya return to the news of Galdin Quay--or more precisely, the news that the power from the pylons had finally reached the sea side resort.

Good news, she thought, even as she felt a pit of dread begin to form in her gut. Why did she have such a bad feeling about the resort?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i wrote that end like 5 dif times and i'm still not happy with it
> 
> yes luna chose ravus to remember because even if she loves/dislikes him, he's still her brother. It was going to be the Friend (who should be obvious??) but i changed my mind as i was writing.
> 
> also finished the comrades story! so that main story will be ending soonish and we'll run into more original stuff outside of the comrades story from there.


	4. year four

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> unbeta`d

In the wake of reaching Galdin Quay, Freya almost missed the other news.

Apparently, a 'witch' from near Malmalam Thicket had arrived in Lestallum, setting up shop for anyone willing to buy off her. Freya, curious about the 'witch' comments, decided to check it out for herself.

All things considered, Freya almost expected the stereotype of the witch, grass green skin with boils on their noses and big pointy hats. The kindly old woman sitting with her few wares definitely did not fit whatsoever. Freya just raised her eyebrows and moved in.

The old woman seemed almost surprised that anyone would come near. Freya wondered why and remembered 'witch'. Did people really believe silly gossip like that?

"Hello!" Freya greeted, trying her best smile. "I heard a new store opened up. I wanted to see the wares, before I headed out on a job."

The woman smiled kindly and Freya decided she definitely made a good choice. They discussed the wares and Freya learned the older woman's name: Kimya. The wares themselves were just enchanted charms that enhanced certain abilities: Simple magic, Freya thought, that anyone with some magic in their veins could do if they knew how or figured it out.

Freya had a feeling that Kimya had figured out how to do it on her own. She did admit to Kimya that she didn't have the right items for their exchange but she'll come by later to check them out.

Kimya just seemed happy to get someone to talk to, even if she is also to seem neutral. That was worth promising to come by again, was worth coming by in the first place. Freya liked to see people's smiles.

Freya didn't even notice the stares she received from the people around them.

* * *

She and Iris were hanging out when Iris goes quiet, as if deep in thought. Freya doesn't exactly know why Iris goes quiet: She didn't think that anything she had said so strange as to warrant such a silence.

"Iris, are you alright?" Freya finally asked after a full few minutes. "You're quiet."

Iris jolted and flushed at the question. "O-oh! Sorry, Freya. I was just thinking...I uh. Jeez, how do I ask this...I've never done this before..."

Done what before? Freya wondered. She'd give Iris some time to find her words, patiently, because it was clearly important to her friend. Why else would she be so frustrated?

Finally, Iris straightened, her hands twitching like she wanted to do something with them. Instead she clasped them in front of her and said, "Freya, would you maybe...go on a date with me? I know it's sudden and weird but I figure even if we're stuck in the dark we should try to live a little--" She trailed off, flushing a deep pink.

Freya stared for a long few seconds, trying to process what Iris had just asked. Iris wanted to go out on a date...with her? The blonde was left reeling in surprise. What wa there about Freya that Iris liked enough to ask to date?

"Yeah, okay. A date sounds nice." Freya finally decided with a nod. "Just me and you--do you want to pick the place or shall I track one down?"

Iris seemed flustered by Freya's easy acceptance and took a moment to collect herself once more. "I'll take care of finding a place! Um. How about we have our date tomorrow night? Does that sound okay?"

Freya tilted her head and smiled at Iris. "Yeah, of course. I'll find you are your store before we go?" Iris nodded happily and they hugged each other.

Mostly because Freya was sure Iris would combust if any kisses were exchanged.

* * *

Prompto bounced almost right into Freya, one night. "Freya!!" He cried, delighted to see her. "Just the person I wanted to see--There's someone I want to introduce."

Freya barely had the chance to blink before Prompto was dragging her towards the power plant, where a man in crownsguard black stood, leaning on the railing of the overlook. She tilted her head: HE looked familiar, like she had seen him once before.

"Ignis!" Prompto shouted, finally letting go of Freya's hand, as if trusting her not to run off at the last second. Not that she had ever been planning to run off but still. "Ignis, this is Freya. Freya, this is Ignis—I showed you a photo of him, Gladio, and Noct once!"

Oh! That was all Freya needed to recall where she had seen the man before: The photo she had seen shortly after meeting Prompto. That made sense, she thought, and pushed any more thoughts on that aside.

Ignis turned in her general direction but Freya got the distinct feeling that the man wasn't actually looking at her. "A pleasure," He said, "As Prompto has said, I am Ignis. May I ask--Are you the hunter Prompto has mentioned?"

"Not a hunter, Iggy!" Prompto blurted, bouncier than she had ever seen him. "She's a Glaive--She can warp and everything, I swear."

Freya tilted her head forward. "Technically, the kingsglaive isn't a thing anymore, despite my abilities falling under that category. By that, I suppose I'm more of a hunter than a crownsguard, if we assume that Glaive isn't a proper title."

Prompto puffed and said something about how it was definitely a title, a rank, a thing--because he'd be dead ten times over by now if it wasn't for her. Freya wasn't sure what that had to do with her being a Glaive, but she'll just let Prompto have that.

Ignis seemed amused by the banter and chuckled softly. "Well, I suppose either way, one could claim that both crownsguard and kingsglaive no longer truly exist--without the king to protect, perhaps we are all Hunters now."

She nodded and their mutual blond friend rolled his eyes and said something about them both being stuffy. It was said in all fondness, so Freya wouldn't hold it against him.

* * *

(Not that she would've, even if he meant it cruelly. There are not many people in this world that Freya was certain she hated. Disliked, yes, but hate? She doesn't know if she has it in her to truly hate someone.)

(Freya does.)

(She just doesn't remember yet.)

* * *

Ignis grabbed Prompto’s arm, as this Freya left. He was hesitant and worried--he knew what the kingsglaive had done in Insomnia. Even if some of them had not turned traitor on the rest of Lucis, that did not immediately rule her out of that.

He needed to know more and Prompto clearly knew her well.

“Prompto, this Freya…How did you meet her?” He asked, frowning as a cool wind brushed against his face.

Prompto was probably making that face, the one where he clearly didn’t understand where he--or Gladio--was going with something. “I met her like, I dunno, over a year ago now? I was catching up with Cindy and Freya showed up, looking like she was going to deck me if I was trying anything with Cindy…,” Prompto said.

Ignis placed a hand on his chin in thought, letting go of Prompto’s arm in the process. “Is that so…”

“Why do you ask, Iggy?” Prompto asked and Ignis was sure he was frowning. It was obvious just by the tone of the blond’s voice.

He shook his head. “My apologies. I merely thought her voice sounded familiar--however, if she is a Glaive as you say, then that is likely where I heard her voice before.”

Prompto’s hand brushed his sleeve, hesitant. “A-about that….Freya definitely fights like a Glaive and has all the magic of a Glaive. They call her a Glaive. But Freya only claims that title because she doesn’t have anything else.”

Ignis narrowed his one good eye. “What do you mean by that?”

“Freya…she’s got amnesia. Barely remembers anything from before Libertus found her wandering some roads.  I think she’s been trying to find out more about herself but hasn’t found anything. I want to help but…” Prompto trailed off, sounding pained.

The chamberlain let out a deep breath. “I see. Thank you for informing about this, Prompto. Now, how about you lead me to the mission’s board…?”

* * *

Freya has no idea why she thought this was a good idea.

...Okay, fine she had thought it'd be fine to cover for a hunter on guard duty for one day. Night. Whatever. It's not like a lot happened most days anyway and the hunter's wife was sick. It wouldn't have been fair for her to not say okay to the poor distressed woman.

It's not like she knew a bunch of nidus were going to show up, drawing daemons to them like it was catnip for a train of cats. Hells, Freya had been so sure that everything would be calm that she'd only brought her halberd, ready to pick off any daemons that did try to sneak over.

Worst. Mistake. Ever.

As it was, Freya was now on the ground running, her halberd raised in a half salute as she cut a goblin clean in half. Behind her, she heard the shouting of the overnight guards, calling for back up. Freya sure as hell hoped it'd show up soon.

Mostly because, as she approached the first of the Nidus, she could see an iron giant pulling itself from the ground, ready to break some buildings and roads. Had it been alone, she could handle it. With all the trouble she was dealing with? No way was that happening.

And her prays were answered as someone in black and red armor descended from above, their lance cutting through a hobgoblin with a disgusting squelch. "Hey there girly." The newcomer, a woman with tied back pale tan hair, smirked. "I see you're the only one with any guts on guard duty tonight, huh?"

"I'm the only one who can warp back up to safety if I need to." Freya shot back, catching a goblin off guard with a swing of her halberd. "Can we banter later, when there aren't Nidus and daemons breathing down our throats?"

That just seemed to make the woman cackle, hard and bright. Impaling two goblins, the woman said, "Man, I like you. Guts and Quips. Better take care of yourself, I'd be sad to see you go."

Freya huffed and rolled her eyes, spinning to take out a couple of goblins before she warp striked into a faraway nidus. At least the damn things were stationary, unlike the many daemons she had warped past.

Her battle partner danced around her, at ease with her weapon in a way Freya envied. She knew that once she had a weapon she was once completely at ease with even if she had never liked fighting. For all that she loved her halberd, her lance, and the daggers she carried, they were not the same as the ease the woman had with her lance.

Of course, as the fighting ease off and Freya got a proper look at her battle partner, Freya felt herself go back on edge. Something about the woman made her mind ring with threat--like someone who, if not personally, had hurt her. Freya wondered if it was the Empire, again.

Niflheim seemed to be a constant source of her worries and anxiety, even those she couldn't remember.

"We should get back up the wall." The woman said as the last nidus disappeared into a purple haze alongside the last iron giant. "Probably safer than hanging out around here--and better lighting too."

Freya hummed and tossed her halberd, catching it as she reformed on top of the wall. The armored woman landed next to her, making the scaffolding creak under the impact. Freya raised an eyebrow: Not very careful, huh?

The woman tilted the strange grill helmet from her face, still smirking. Now that Freya got a better look--yes, this woman seemed familiar in the 'once upon a time, before the ocean' way. The older woman leaned forward suddenly, studying Freya's face.

"Excuse me," She said, trying to keep her tone neutral, "But I'm afraid I'm taken." Ack, where did that come from!? She hadn't meant to say that!

She was rewarded with a laugh. "No need for that, Halberd," The woman said, "Name's Aranea Highwind--Remember it. You might just be stuck with me some time in the future."

Freya squinted as Aranea jumped from the scaffolding down into Lestallum proper, the cloth attached to her armor swaying behind her. What a weird woman--Freya wondered when she had seen her and how the hell she'd ever managed to forget her.

It's not until the next morning, after a good sleep, that Freya realized that Aranea had never asked for her name.

* * *

Freya yawned as she drifted through the sparse market place. She'd been taking mission after mission since Iris had gone on a long escort mission three days earlier. But constant missions can exhaust a person so Freya had decided to take a break.

Of course, that break consisted of her wandering around the areas of Lestallum she was allowed to. It's not like she was going to buy anything, though. She needed to save her money for supplies and replacement weapons.

She paused at a stand and looked down at the ties laying out in a bowl there. Hair ties, she realized. Freya hesitated, tugging on the end of her hair. It had been getting long, she'd noticed. It was even longer than when she had woken up at that ocean beach.

"--Hey, Freya!" Freya looked up from the stand to see Libertus limping towards her, waving his hand. She smiled and turned to him. Before she got the chance to walk towards him, Libertus was already at her side. "I see your hair is even longer than the last time I saw you."

Freya coughed lightly. "I suppose it is pretty long now. I was thinking of getting it cut or tying it up so it isn't in my way."

Libertus hummed and stepped up next to her to look at the hair ties on the stand. She tilted her head at him as he selected a couple--some plain brown ones for his own hair, she assumed, and a pair of pale yellow ones. She wondered what those were for.

"Freya," Libertus said, "I used to do my little sister--er, Crowe's hair when she was young. Would you mind me teaching you a way to do your hair?"

She blinked, confused by Libertus' offer. "Well--Sure? If you're don't mind?"

This seemed to make Libertus happy and he paid for the hair ties before gesturing for Freya to follow him. She jogged up next to him and the two of them walked through the marketplace. It was quieting down when they arrived in Libertus' one room apartment. It was small and sparse and had a smell of old wood.

He grabbed a comb and cleaned it off, patting the bed he sat down at with a light omph. Freya sat down next to him and peered at him out of the corner of her eye. "How shall we do this?" She asked.

"Simple," Libertus said, "I'll comb your hair once and then tie it up." Freya hummed her assent and Libertus began combing through her hair. It'd been a long time since someone else had combed her hair--in fact, she suddenly remembered her brother and him brushing her hair when they were young. She still couldn't see his face--but his face, his presence? Freya remembered that very well.

It was comforting, in a way, to have someone else comb her hair. She had gotten used to doing it all on her own, over the years, even when Iris had taken to running her hands through her hair.

Freya paused when she felt more than saw Libertus start tugging strands of her hair and braiding them together. As he did so, Libertus spoke. "You know, before those of us from Galahd joined, the Glaives didn't have anything beyond their uniforms as a unifying factor. When us refugees started joining up--the younger recruits started picking up our hair styles. Braids, which were reserved for soldiers, and Coeurl manes." He neatly tied up the end of the first braid, letting it lie on her shoulder. "Eventually, brids and Coeurl manes became the most common hair styles for the Glaives."

"Did that bother you?" She asked, twiddling her thumbs.

Libertus sighed. "It used to, yeah. But over the past few years, I realized something: The Glaives might not've been from Galahd but they were honorary Galahdian warriors, as they fought with myself and Nyx--as well as many others." He explained as he expertly weaved the second braid.

She went quiet. If he was alright with it, Freya wouldn't say a word against it. Besides, he wouldn't be tell her this if he hadn't started doing her hair in the style of Galahd.

He tied off the last braid and pulled the braids and loose hair up into a ponytail. Freya knew that some of her hair was still framing her face, just by the bangs she could spy. Libertus touched her shoulder.

"Turn around. I've gotta make sure your bangs are right." Freya turned her head and Libertus began flicking her hair to and fro until he was sure it looked good. Once he was, he stood up, gesturing for Freya to follow his example.

Curious, she stood up and trailed after him with a frown. What was he doing now?

Oh, a mirror. She tilted her head as Libertus turned it to her and she caught her own reflection--her blonde bangs framing her face, with the three braids Libertus had done sitting almost stark in her hair--two were tied up with her loose hair and the third braid laying on her shoulder.

Huh. Did she ever look like this before? The hair style looked fairly familiar to her--like it was a rippled reflection of a style she had worn before. Not quite right but close enough for Freya's comfort.

Libertus chuckled. "Do you think you can keep up this style on your own, or will you still need help?" Freya jumped, as if she had forgotten he was there.

"I--think I can keep it up on my own. Thank you, Libertus. This'll work. I won't have to cut my hair after all." She smiled at Libertus who smirked back and patted her shoulder.

"You take care of yourself, Lu--Freya."

* * *

Before Freya's date with Iris, she got some rather bad news. Apparently one of the pylons to Galdin Quay was damaged during a mission. She internally grumbled: No seaside dates with Iris, then, not until they repaired it and restored power...again.

She hoped it wouldn't go horribly wrong again like it did this time. At least they'd managed to get some eyes on the boat that had taken the Prince to Altissia--the last place, besides his retainers, anyone had seen the man.

In any case, she dressed in her best clothes for the date, dusting off the dirt and grim that had drifted onto it during her days.

Freya arrived at Iris' store some few minutes before the latter did, surprised to see the young man sitting at the counter for the city. If she remembered right... "You're...Jareth, right?" A Hunter. Though judging by his leg...

The young man coughed. "E-eh, hey! You're that famous Glaive, Freya! Why're you here?" He leaned on a crutch, raising an eyebrow at her. "This doesn't seem like the type of store you'd get stuff from."

"Hey now!" Freya leaned forward, her hands on her hips. "I'll have you know I buy all my clothes from Iris. Her clothes are the best, especially as a glaive." Mostly because her clothes were reinforced to protect her from impacts.

Jareth shrugged. "If you say so."

They both turned as someone rushed towards them, almost stumbling over her own feet as she did so. Freya straightened at the sight of Iris, who was beaming in delight at them. Or really at Freya, but semantics.

Iris hugged Freya as greeting, pulling back with a smile. "Hey, Freya. I've picked out a place for us this time--After all, last time was your turn." Freya smiled. Last time had been before Iris' month long mission, which Freya hoped to ask about today. Iris reached up and touched Freya's cheek. "You changed your hairstyle...?

"Early on during your time away." Freya admitted. "Does it--Does it look okay? I can cut my hair if you'd prefer--"

She was interrupted by Iris' laugh. "No, no!" Iris cried, tugging lightly on the loose braid. "I think it looks nice. It just...reminds me of someone. Where'd you get the idea for it?"

She smiled at Iris. "Libertus helped me out with it. I've just decided to keep the braids in; it's easier than braiding them every day."

Iris laughed lightly at her words and waved to Jareth, briefly thanking him for watching over her store for the day. The two than left to the food place Iris had picked out for their date today. It was a nice little place that had selections of rice dishes from a part of the Accordo islands.

Freya ordered a simple rice bowl with chicken. Iris on the other hand picked a vegetable rice bowl, with only a little beef in it. It would take a long while before they finished the meals--so Freya supposed it was catch up time.

"So, how was your mission anyway? You were gone for a lot than I thought you'd be." A week had been the original estimate--that had later turned into a month the longer it took to escort the Warrior from his tomb in Nilfheim. She hadn't asked about it until now, because she had wanted to hear about it from Iris herself.

Her friend slash girlfriend grimaced at the question. Iris pulled on the ends of her short hair. "It was a pretty hard escort mission. If it weren't for the hollow lights we brought with us, we probably would've all been killed after the first week."

There was a brief silence between the two. Freya bit her lip and sighed. "Iris, what happened? I want--to hear it from you and not some random stranger," She said.

Iris let out a hollow laugh. "We--There was a couple of red giants. Some of us got pretty banged up and we had to stop to patch everyone up. And...we had to...one of the injured got the starscourge." She looked down at her hands, clasped in her lap. Freya felt her heart in her throat at Iris' story.

Starscourge, out there? Freya had a feeling it wasn't that strange, but to think they had a case of it...Without the Oracle there was no one able to heal the scourge from them. Which left them with two choices: Leave them to suffer it and die from it eventually or...put them out of their misery.

"I'm sorry for pushing," Freya said, her voice soft, "I didn't mean to remind you of that..."

Iris shook her head. "You didn't--You didn't know. I don't blame you for that. But enough about my silly problems! How was your time here? I mean, besides the thing with your hair."

Freya frowned at how dismissive Iris seemed to be of her own troubles. "Your problems aren't silly, Iris. But if you really want to stop you can. As for me...It’s just been standard missions. I've gone on a few with Prompto and Ignis but the rest have been with people I don't know very well."

Granted, a lot of those people were ones she'd met briefly in earlier missions so she had known their capabilities.

"How is Ignis? Last time I saw him, he was still trying to adjust to combat again." Iris asked.

Huh? Adjust again? Freya frowned. "He's been fine--But what do you mean by adjust? He's never seemed to have issues during our missions together." Freya tilted her head in confusion, her braid smacking her shoulder as she did so.

Iris blinked. "Uh. Did you not know? He's. He's blind you know?"

...Eh?

Freya stared at Iris as the waiter placed their rice bowls in front of them. Ignis was--Was he really blind? She had never gotten that vibe from him before. "Ignis is really blind? He...doesn't really come off that way to me, if that makes any sense."

"He is, really! It was after the disaster in Altissia--Where Lady Lunafreya died and...Ignis got hurt while protecting Noctis." Iris ate some of her vegetable bowl with a sigh. "I don't know anymore than that and I don't really want to ask. It seems like a touchy subject."

Humming, Freya ate some of her own meal, thinking hard. Ignis was ridiculously adaptable if he was blind yet could fight as well as he could. Freya was almost jealous--except she did like to see. Speaking of seeing, Freya looked at Iris and smiled.

"You've got something, right here," Freya said, before leaning forward and kissing Iris' cheek.

Iris squeaked. "F-Freya!" Ah, yes, just like her earlier assessment all those months ago, Iris really did combust at the first kiss. Of course, it was just on the cheek--but it seemed like it was enough to drive Iris to embarrassment.

Freya smiled, feeling like teasing the other girl. "Aw, come on. We've had at least five dates--Isn't a kiss expected by now?"

A flustered huff came from the younger woman. "Even so, did you have to kiss me out of the blue like that? Gladdy would kill us both if he saw that." Iris flushed as she hide herself in her rice bowl, as if that would hide her from her absent brother.

"Hey now--He'd just killed me. You are his little sister after all." Freya laughed with a head tilt.

Iris puffed and went back to her food, not at all disagreeing with Freya. Likely because they both knew it was true: Gladio would be more than willing to destroy Freya if he knew she was dating Iris. Overprotective brothers were a sight to see--though Freya doubted that Gladio had ever tried to lock Iris up.

(Like her brother had.)

Freya reached over and poked Iris' cheek before returning to her own food. Sometimes, eating in silence was as good as talking. You can learn a lot about someone else just by being with them.

Later, after their date is over, Freya regretted not asking Iris if she knew about Galdin Quay's new problem. She resolved to ask later but--she also wanted to talk with Ignis, if she could find the man. After all, it was time for her first spar with the man.

She really wanted to know what his fighting style is like.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> in case i don't get my special holiday's thing out, Happy Holidays to everyone!

**Author's Note:**

> for those curious: i'm still writing second dawn! 'm just. doing a 3 chapter update this time to make up for writing this--which is gonna have like, at least 10 ish chapters? one for each year.
> 
> most of this is the intro to the comrades DLC but I figure that up until the end of the restore power quest lasts 3 ish years in game because man i rlly think that would take some time.
> 
> also later there will be some implied noct/luna but also implied luna/iris that sort of just. happened i don't know what's happening--but because they aren't rlly major i figure i won't tag it unless something happens? idk.


End file.
